Marcus Lehman, a young doctor from Jacksonville, Fla. considers himself mentally and physically prepared to compete for his chance to be the sole SURVIVOR.

Recognized as the state of Georgia's hottest bachelor by Cosmopolitan Magazine in 2006, Lehman strives to achieve the highest levels in all areas of life.

A rower and graduate of Harvard University, Marcus went on to finish medical school at Emory University while developing his interest in triathlons. The single resident physician of Cuban-American descent will eventually work as an anesthesiologist after he completes specialty training, but also continues to develop his interest in medical reporting and acts as a spokesman for preventative medicine.

Marcus describes himself as a romantic who enjoys exercising, playing music, cooking and fine wine, not to mention doing some flirting on his way to finding the perfect girl. Marcus hopes he will be able to use his charm and physical prowess to make it far in the game.

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

I am athletic, but I bring a certain amount of intellect and common sense

Marcus Lehman, a doctor and Cosmopolitan magazine’s top Georgia bachelor in 2006, is intelligent and extremely articulate, and had perhaps the most casually confident and clear answers of anyone I talked to. He was recruited and cast as a result of his 2006 appearance in Cosmo, but like Charlie Herschel, was actually “a fan of the show since it first came out,” Marcus told me.

Like other cast members, he’s exceptionally concerned about how others will judge him in advance, and said that he was even being careful about things like the clothes he wore at pre-Ponderosa to keep others guessing. (He was wearing an A-shirt and board shorts when we talked.)

“From society’s perspective, I have a lot of things to ‘hide’ in a game like this,” Marcus said. “How do you be honest with people and upfront with them in a way that they can see that you’re a sincere person, but at the same time prevent them from making what I would say are the typical mistakes that I notice people make when they make when they meet me? As soon as they know I went to Harvard or am a doctor it’s like, bam, automatic assumptions. A lot of people rely on those kinds of instincts in this game. Unfortunately, they’re wrong, just like any presupposition or biases.”

That said, Marcus doesn’t plan to lie, but rather will “have conversations about the present,” day-to-day game and form bonds “so when the rest of the stuff comes out it’s not as a big of a deal,” he said. As a triathlete, he has obvious, visible physical strength and knows that “the biggest, strongest guy hardly ever wins.” But he also wants to be known for more than that. “I am athletic, but I bring a certain amount of intellect and common sense,” he said.

Marcus is subtly and not obnoxiously arrogant, and I didn’t even really sense it when I first talked to him, but that attitude is apparent in some of his answers. For example, he cited both cited Richard Hatch (“an intelligent guy that analyzed situations well”) and Yul Kwon as players he admires, and said of Yul, “I swear I had a man crush on him.” Later, Marcus returned to Yul and said, “I felt like he was faced with a lot of the same problems that I’m faced with … he’s obviously a bright guy, he’s fit, and to me that seems the biggest challenge in the game.” In other words, he admires Yul for characteristics they share—or even has a man crush on himself, too.

Marcus’ understanding of the game and what has worked well for past winners will definitely help him. Yul “established great relationships and kept his mouth shut when he needed to, and that’s the way to do it,” he said. And citing Richard Hatch’s honesty as an example, said that this season, “it would be great to have the game run its course in a way that’s a little more noble, and if I can play a part in that, by all means, I’d love to.”

Marcus plans to “seek common ground to develop trust” among fellow tribe members, and also act as the “arbitrator, the person people can turn to for solutions and also for trust. And really, at the end of the day, kind of sneak under the radar that way.” That sounds like a solid plan that might work.

What could get in his way are his hormones. When he cited the “two types of relationships” that cast members have, he said they were “friendships and intimate relationships,” and for the latter, “I’ve definitely considered maybe going down that road a little bit … I love flirting with girls, so it’s going to happen.”

What was your first impression of Africa?Marcus: I thought it looked a lot like the United States. I was expecting this strange dirt full of creepy parasites and strange diseases jumping everywhere. It was quite beautiful. When I got into the jungle, which was unbelievable, was when I realized I was really in Africa.

Did you get up close and personal with any of the exotic animals?Marcus: I got close to a really large green mamba snake. My sister passed away a couple of years ago and her birthday was one of the days that I was in Gabon, so I took some time by myself out in the jungle. While I was walking in the woods I noticed that across the trail in a branch was an eight-foot green mamba. It saw me for a second and then took off, but it was a really crazy moment out there for me.

I would have run the other way.Marcus: Trust me, I didn't kid around.

What went through your mind when you realized the tribes were switching, not merging? Marcus: Here we go again. Deflating is a good way to put it. We worked really hard, but we weren't quite there yet. It's like your football team is ahead by a couple touchdowns in the third quarter and then all of a sudden the ref blows the whistle and announces: 'we're now switching the score.' We could still win, but switching up the teams made it a lot harder for my original Kota tribe. It played perfectly into the hands of the other tribe.

Did you like your new Kota tribe?Marcus: I knew I was in trouble. I didn't have my strategic group. The new Kota was me and Bob, and Susie, who's been on the fence and trying to pretend like all of her promises didn't count because it was just a game. She'd been doing that for days. She shouldn't have made any promises if she didn't mean to keep them. I was thinking that it was going to be tough. And it was.

What was the hardest part of your 24 days in the game?Marcus: The hardest part for me was the last three days. I knew I was with a difficult crowd. I missed Charlie, Corinne and Randy. We had so much fun. When you have that positive spirit of support, you can have a blast even while starving in the middle of Africa. Everyone in the new Kota was nice, but we were missing the element of trust and without that it's hard and not fun.

Did you lose much weight?Marcus: Yes. I weigh about 185 pounds and I lost 15 pounds, which is a pretty big chunk. And my beard seemed to weigh a couple pounds!

As the first member of the jury, what will you be looking for when you make your final decision?Marcus: I'm going to pay attention to how they play their strategy. People have asked me if I still respect Crystal, who voted me out after promising she wouldn't write my name down. The person who bends the lowest in this game isn't representing intelligent play. To me, it's all about who can get through the game while standing up for what they believe in and sticking to their guns. I'm looking for someone playing an honorable role. Are they going out there and really working through this game? Fortunately, I've interacted with everyone who's still in the game, so I kind of knew where he or she was coming from.

All that Marcus Lehman, a 28-year-old doctor from Atlanta, GA, needed was the merge. After coasting through the first seven episodes of Survivor: Gabon in the dominant Kota tribe, Lehman had secured enough allies to make it far into the competition with little resistance.

However, after 24 days into the game and an unexpected "fake merge" that resulted in an additional shakeup of the tribes, Lehman found himself with some tribemates who were more manipulative and "sneaky" than he had grown used to and ended up being the ninth castaway to be eliminated from the show.

On Friday, a high road-touting Lehman talked to Reality TV World about what had surprised him during his final Tribal Council, who he felt had played the game improperly, and why he didn't just sneak the Immunity Idol into his pocket while throwing it into the ocean.

Reality TV World: After you were voted out, Jeff called your elimination a "blindside" but earlier in last night's show there was a confessional clip where you said that given the opportunity, you thought [Susie Smith] would sell you down the river in a second. So which was it -- did you leave camp pretty much already expecting to be voted off or did Susie's decision come as a surprise?

Marcus: You know honestly, I've gotten a lot of that "I was the next blindside" kind of thing, and it's not about pride at all. The thing that caught me off guard was [Crystal Cox] more than Susie. Susie had been hedging against having any sort of trustworthy standing for a long time and she kept saying "Well it's just a game, my promises don't mean anything" and it's like "Oh really, well than why are you making me promise you?" stuff.

But Crystal was the one that was tough, because I knew that we had a relationship outside of the game, which I think is very rare but also something that you should be kind of careful with. She chose to use that in a different way than I would've, and I had to have some trust in somebody at some point. Unfortunately it didn't work out for me.

It was expected but not enjoyable.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when Susie came out and threatened to jump alliances unless you promised to form a Final 3 alliance with her?

Marcus: Yeah you know it was so weird because one of the things as a Kota 7 [member] in the middle Kota tribe [that] we had really tried to foster was that idea of: "Everyone stick to the plan and have faith that, over the course of the experience, we will be able to figure out who we want to align with, and making promises now is unrealistic because you can't guarantee anything. You can't guarantee me anything, I can't guarantee you anything. Let's just see what happens when we get there."

So, it's so confusing to find myself in this position when this lady asks me to promise her stuff when literally the words that came out of her mouth right before that were "Promises don't mean anything, it's just a game."

It was like, well how are you asking me now to promise you Final 3? It was a weird situation, I think that's why I didn't say anything because, like, what am I supposed to say here?

It was funny, but that was just Susie.

Reality TV World: Going off of that, do you think you would have actually kept that Final 3 alliance promise or would you have still voted her off as soon as you could?

Marcus: I would keep my promise. I mean that's why I talked to Crystal about getting rid of [Ken "Kenny" Hoang]. I was trying to honor my commitment, in spite of the fact that she wasn't gonna honor hers. It's the higher road and that's where I wanted to be.

I saw it as "Let's get to the Final 6 with the people that we talked about, If something has to happen in the interim because someone is proving to dishonor the commitment that they made, then hopefully we'll have someone we can replace them with."

And then when it comes to that Final 6, that's when we'll really see because we'll be able to look back at the entire experience and say "Okay, this is the person that I would like to see at the end, and this is a person that doesn't wanna see me at the end." That would be a fascinating game to see where six people who have really been through thick and thin and stuck it out, how are they going to react? What are they going to do? I was excited to see where it was gonna go.

Reality TV World: So how would you have handled your promise to Crystal to give Susie's [vacated] spot in the Kota 6 alliance to her?

Marcus: Given the relationship I had with Crystal on the outside of the game -- her cousin's name is Kenneth -- I would have loved to honor my friendship with him through helping her dodge some bullets, because to me she's been a pretty nice person and I really didn't have a lot of the gripes that [Randy Bailey] had.

And really at that point we didn't know who was gonna do what. We knew [Jessica "Sugar" Kiper] had an [Immunity Idol] in there somewhere. [Matty Whitmore], we were on the fence on how he was gonna be. So no matter what was gonna happen we would get to that merge and we would have some work to do and I was hoping that Crystal, maybe she would usurp Susie's position and then we'd find ourselves in a Final 6 where it's almost like "Where's the Immunity Necklace gonna land?" because that's the only person that's really safe for the next day.

I would've loved to see Randy, myself, [Corinne Kaplan], and [Charlie Herschel] in the Final 4. It would've been a fun time. I loved a lot of those people, so it would've been nice either way.

Reality TV World: Susie seemed to make her fencesitter stance pretty obvious to both sides and a lot of times what happens with Survivor fencesitters is the two sides come together and decide to vote off the fencesitter instead. Did you ever discuss that idea with Crystal and Kenny or was getting Crystal to vote for Kenny the only idea you considered?

Marcus: Well no, if you watch the show -- and this is, I think, easily missed -- they only point out for a second [that] one of the things I kept saying to Crystal was "Crystal, if you don't think this works let me know." The door was wide open for Crystal to step in and say "Hey look I respect the relationship that you have with my cousin [but] I really don't think I can vote for Kenny. Let's talk about Susie some more," and it would've been like "Hey awesome!"

Because at that point I'm the only one who's doing anything. [Robert "Bob" Crowley] is taking another nap or up there whittling something. He wasn't really involved, so although I did have two of my supposed "alliance people" in there, I was really the only one that was doing any work in any direction there to kind of keep us together.

So I really left the door open for that because, like I said, Susie was really proving herself to be kind of frustrating in that regard. Corinne and Charlie had struggled with her the whole time too.

Corinne spent hours with Susie [trying] to develop a friendship, so that was a real slap in the face for her to have Susie say something like [her Day 21 criticisms of Corinne.] It was like, yeah Susie helps out around camp, but to try and call Corinne out when Corinne was very helpful. She was also a very good asset in the tribe.

It's almost... it's arrogant in a way to assume that you're so much better [and] that you can point out that Corinne doesn't help out in the one way you help out [and] that makes her not as good as you. It's strange.

Reality TV World: During one of your pre-Tribal Council conversations with Susie, you told her you'd get her, Charlie, and yourself to the Final 3 by voting off Randy, Bob, and then Corinne. Does that mean that, despite what you'd told Randy on last week's episode, he hadn't actually replaced Bob as the fourth member of your core alliance?

Marcus: Well the problem with Randy was [that] I was close to Randy, and through me Charlie and Corinne [also] were. But a lot of that, and again I keep emphasizing, we were trying to keep the Final 6 very (pauses) fluid. We knew a couple -- I was really close to Charlie and I was close to Corinne. But we knew because if you can't trust all six people implicitly -- which we couldn't with Susie and we were pretty sure we could with Randy -- then it's not even worth talking about it at that point.

So, in a sense you can make light promises like "Oh yes, you're in the [Top 3]" but at the same time they're really not worth the paper they're written on. And we wanted to keep it that way because you don't make good promises unless you have all of the information you can. That was really what we were hoping to accomplish.

Reality TV World: Susie seemed to switch very quickly from wanting either Kenny or Crystal gone to voting you out. Is that an example of her odd gameplay tactics that had made her so disliked on Kota?

Marcus: Yeah, but honestly it looks real quick on the show but it's over the course of a couple of days. What I think I noticed was that these people saw Bob and myself and the rest of the Kota tribe that were on the other tribe as being strong, confident players.

And we were reveling in each other's successes and we were trying to really enjoy our time out there. [Meanwhile] these people had been coniving and scheming for days, and days and days. They really had a (pauses) basically like a (pauses again) I don't know, a "get out of jail free" card come out of nowhere and give them another chance in the game. I think their reaction to our confidence and our enjoyment of the situation was to be threatened.

We shared the spotlight. They don't understand that sharing it makes it brighter instead of [taking] it away from you. I really think that there was nothing I could say or do at that point to really feel like I would have reached Kenny, Susie, or Crystal.

Reality TV World: During Tribal Council, Bob said that given the tribes hadn't merged, he'd come to regret his vote to send [Dan Kay] home at Kota's last Tribal Council. Did that mean that you guys had come to think that unlike Susie, Dan wouldn't have flip alliances on you guys?

Marcus: I wonder... It's an interesting point you bring up because I never... I saw that last night and I was like "God, what the hell is he talking about?" You know, let me just point out -- and I love Dan because I argued for him for the longest time to hope that he could come to an understanding -- but to be young, good looking and athletic in our group of people and to still get voted off before Susie takes an amazing amount of effort. And I hate that, because I love that Dan is really taking his life into his own hands, it's a super important thing.

But I'm wondering if maybe [Bob's comments] had to do with the Immunity Challenge, because those big shoulders of [Dan's] probably would have done better than my stumpy arms and better than Susie's. Maybe that could have gotten us out of the Tribal Council. I can only gather that because that was the biggest problem: for all that Dan would say, his actions belied his desire to get rid of me or get rid of somebody else.

Somehow the only way I think he was gonna be comfortable was if he was running the show himself and I don't think we were really at that point where anyone was willing to do that.

I doubt [Bob's comments] had to do with the "flipability." It probably has more to do with just [Dan's] strength.

Reality TV World: After you were eliminated, you said how "sneaky" you felt the new Kota tribe was. What did you mean by that -- do you think you hadn't also been "sneaky" when you were going around making conflicting deals with both Susie and Crystal?

Marcus: Yeah, I hope you guys see a little bit of a difference, in you know... (pauses) I was trying to honor a commitment that I made and, like I said before, I was trying to honor the friendship that I had with Crystal's cousin and if that's "sneaky" then by all means I guess I fit that definition.

But it's a different kind of "sneaky" than "I'm gonna tell you that I'm not gonna write your name down and then write your name down," and it's a different kind of "sneaky" than Kenny which is "I'm gonna use you're pity and compassion and learn how to fish and learn all these things, and they try and sell you out in front of Tribal Council and make you looks silly."

It just doesn't work. I mean you can write down whatever you want and say what you want but at the end of the day... people see what they see, and you can't replace that.

Reality TV World: In your exit statement you mentioned that you thought Bob was going to be in trouble. What did you mean by that -- did you see him being the first target a merged tribe or did you just think he's going to be the next person voted off if there isn't a merge and Kota has to go to Tribal Council again?

Marcus: If there wasn't a merge, that was my concern.

Because we really, at that point (pauses) When I said I crumpled up and threw away my plan it was like, I just need to stop trying to predict what's going on or stop having conversations like "when's the gross food challenge?" or "when's this?" or "when's that?"

It's like forget it, let's just "day-by-day" on this thing. I felt that if they stayed in that same situation, [the remaining Kota tribe] didn't have any assets to win an immunity so the next guy down on the totem pole was definitely gonna be Bob because everyone would know that he voted for Kenny. But that was his risk.

Reality TV World: Last night, we saw you come up with that strange plan to throw away the hidden Idol that was on the feast beach. Do you think you would still have come up with plan if you had known the tribes weren't merging right at that point?

Marcus: Yeah, because there were six of us and four of them, but arguably Susie was five-and-five so the chances that any of my tightest people were gonna end up with it -- and the chance of me ending up with it was one in ten.

If you really watch it and get a feel for the athmosphere, everyone was trying to be very neutral. And it's not a hidden Immunity Idol, it's just an Immunity Idol. Whoever puts that in their pocket, their target immediately triples in size the moment they got it.

In my position it would have been the worst case scenario because it would have been a guarantee that they were going to vote against me. Then the minute it's free, that's such a relief that they'd vote against me again. So it might've guaranteeed me one more round, but it certainly wouldn't have put me in a good situation at all.

Reality TV World: It looked like, except for Randy, everyone else stayed back on shore when you waded into the water to throw it away. Did you ever think of quietly slipping it off the bottle and into your pocket before you threw the bottle?

Marcus: Yeah man, but that thing was tied on, it was like soldered on there. And we weren't that far away, I mean it would've been obvious to everyone that we were pulling that thing off.

You could try that, but realistically no way are you gonna get away with it.

Reality TV World: How far away from the tribal camps was that feast beach? Were you ever worried that someone snuck back to the beach and managed to retreive the idol?

Marcus: Honestly there's no way. It would have been dangerous, scary and stupid. You might have been saved from Tribal Council but you would have gotten eaten.

Reality TV World: Had the possibility that the tribes might not actually be merging never actually crossed anyone's mind before you guys opened the box?

Marcus: Oh yeah, definitely! In fact I whispered to Charlie right before I walked into the camp area where the food was "Dude, I think this is gonna be a fake merge.'

It just (pause) the way that they led us in you got this sense that something wasn't right. I mean, most of the time when the box is on the "after" side of the feast... You know, why wouldn't they just have us merge and put our little buffs on and ride out from there into the sunset. You knew something was up.

I definitely think it all crossed our minds. In some of the interviews where that got brought up didn't get put it on TV, but it certainly had been considered.

Anyone who's thinking in this game needs to have considered it. But since you don't know the method, you're at a loss. And the way that they did it, I mean literally the only way we would've been okay would've been if somehow Randy, Charlie, Corinne, Bob, and myself ended up on the same tribe. I mean, that would've been the only way.

Reality TV World: After you were eliminated, who did you want to see win?

Marcus: It's a toss up. I would love to see someone who has the same positive attitude and is encouraging do well. Charlie was one of my best friends out there and I would love to see him do well.

Last time on Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden, a new twist entered the game when Fang and Kota were all set to make the merge. But it was not to be. Instead the two tribes were shuffled yet again.

The new direction caught Dr. Marcus Lehman on the blindside when new tribe mate Crystal pulled one of her signature backstabbing moves, rallying the others to knock him out of the action. The trend lately is to throw curves throughout the game which render any built up alliances virtually useless. Combine that with Crystal's strategy of surrounding herself with weakness and it was a recipe for disaster that Marcus could not overcome.

We caught up with the good Doctor and he filled us in on his take for what is decidely no longer your Daddy's Survivor.

FC: Hello Dr. Marcus!ML: What's up man!

FC: I always start by pointing out that for you it's been awhile since you were voted off, but for us it was only last night. How are you dealing with this? It seems the strong players are dropping like flies!ML: For me as a player, Dan and Ace I knew was coming, since they had not put themselves in position to have strong relationships. The shock for me came early with the situation where we were dealt with the fake merge. That was the one thing our strategy could really be susceptible to. It was like being up a couple of touchdowns in the 3rd Quarter and the Ref switches the score on you. Technically you can still win but now you're fighting an uphill battle. I think a lot of us felt that way at that point.

FC: You mentioned you knew it was happening as soon as you saw the number on the stone, but until that moment, had you any inkling that the merge was not going to happen? ML: Yeah, I don't want anyone to think for one minute that we did not use all the caution in the world, but literally, what can you do? I mean, it's almost tiring as a player in the game when they're gonna switch you again. It's sort of like if you like watching the NFL and you like the Jets, but every weekend all the players in the NFL just switch, then they're not the Jets, they're just a bunch of dudes on a football field. All the strategy you've spent time building gets tossed out the window, and that's fun to a certain extent. But after awhile it really takes away from the enjoyment of the game and the ability to really strategize. I know it's part of the process, but I think one of the really interesting things is to see how those relationships play out. But it's sorta hard to do when everything gets shaken up all the time.

FC: Right, like Ace pointed out last week, this is not your Daddy's Survivor and from a viewer's standpoint I think I have to agree. ML: Yeah, it's an interesting commentary on what CBS is choosing to make the game into. I see Survivor a little bit like a morality play on life, although a really intense version of it, because you're finding yourself making really difficult decisions on a regular basis and it involves other people and those relationships are difficult, and made more difficult by insecurity and by the whole randomness of the game. There's a certain element of it though where it's like, do you pursue those relationships or do you pursue the randomness? Because after awhile the randomness is frustrating. I feel like it takes away from the game, but according to the Survivor staff, they think it adds to it. But that's the guy upstairs, it's his call and I certainly appreciate the opportunity to play and I loved it so, I take from it what I got, I knew what I was getting into. It's disapponting, but at the end of the day it's another great experience and I feel blessed to have had a life where I've gotten a few of these types of things happen to me.

FC: By the same token, I guess Susie would have to say that she's a fan of the direction that Survivor has taken.ML: Absolutely, I mean it's no different than anything in your real life. If you're one of those people that doesn't know how to share the spotlight with someone else, and make it brighter, if you are the type to play by hook or by crook, then it plays very well into that situation. I'm trying to be as caring and objective as possible, and I want only the best for everybody, but I can't say that that's the way I choose to go about doing things the way that I do. I want to carry as many people across the Finish Line as possible, whether it's Survivor or real life, cause that's the way you enjoy it, by sharing that road with somebody.

FC: Well, in your case, the road is not over since you will continue by being the first jury member.ML: That's right! I'm very proud of the fact that I am on the jury and I look forward to my role in how Survivor will ultimately play out.

FC: That's great. Do you have a prediction for the winner?ML: Well, even if I weren't on the jury, I wouldn't want to pick a winner, because the nature of the game is such that you never know what will happen.

FC: So true. Well, thanks for talking with us today and good luck to you in your Medical career!ML: Thanks! Good luck to you too!

Marcus Lehman was voted out of Survivor Gabon last night following yet another tribe shake-up. I talked to him a few minutes ago, and he was remarkably and impressively positive, humble, and reflective about the experience and his game play, his relationships, and even, yes, his penis’ appearance on national television. (The headline, I hope, characterizes his upbeat attitude.)

The vote was pretty stunning, if only because it left the game without one of its strongest players (mentally and physically). Despite the outcome, Marcus told me he wouldn’t change anything about his game play, although he wishes Bob would have helped him convince Susie it was in her best interest to stick with the alliance. Instead, she flipped, joining Crystal and Kenny, which disappointed Marcus—especially because he bonded with Crystal over the fact that his best friend is her cousin, which they discovered at the faux-merge feast. “It comes down to having some faith in people. And I do. I hope that for themselves, not for me, that people take the high road, and it’s nice when it works out that I get the benefit, too, but I was hoping that it would work out well and sometimes it doesn’t,” he said.

We got cut off due to time, so I didn’t get to ask him about hurling an immunity idol into the ocean, which he followed by saying, “These people are so stupid. I got 10 people to throw an immunity idol into the ocean.” That happened at the feast after Charlie and Kenny spotted a clue to an immunity idol (amusingly, the show devolved for a moment into third grade when Charlie noticed it, Kenny grabbed it, and then refused to give it up, so Charlie briefly struggled for it). Once its contents were revealed, no one would admit wanting the idol, so Marcus said, “I’ll call all of your bluffs and force you to get rid of it.”

Anywat, while he doesn’t blame CBS for the accidental nudity, he does have criticism for the way they edited his friendship with Charlie. Overall, it seems like he was thrilled with the experience but disappointed about how others acted. Here are Marcus’ thoughts on his time on Survivor Gabon:

On his penis: “Dude, even my penis was surprised to see itself on TV,” Marcus told me. “I can Google my penis. I’ve reached new heights of awkwardness in my life. How do you tell your grandmother, ‘Grandma, not that you ever would, but do not put ‘Marcus and penis’ in a search field in Google, you will be shocked and horrified. … All I know is, I definitely changed brands of underwear.”

He says he kept that pair of boxers and after washing them repeatedly, “wore them to the show every Thursday night. Kind of like my little reminder to bring myself back [to Africa]. Actually, like the first episode, where it came out, literally, I was actually wearing those same underwear,” he said. “I’m a positive person. I hope people feel that way. You gotta laugh at that.”

On CBS’ penis press release and response: I asked about CBS’ remark that Marcus’ penis was “virtually undetectable,” and he said, “I like how you worked that, kind of bolded and italicized that quote to make it very clear that it was virtually undetectable. No, I didn’t read that quote.”

Although I can’t imagine anyone being serious about size criticism from those screen captures, Marcus also said, “It is what it is, ladies. Sorry. That’s life sometimes. The things that you don’t expect to happen will happen, and you’ve got to laugh about it. And [Survivor Gabon executive producer] Doug McCallie was very apologetic. CBS has been really good about it. My car broke down, CBS, I don’t know if you could make things better that way, but, I’m just kidding. They’ve been really good about it and I think it was an honest mistake. Hopefully it won’t impact me in a negative way; so far, it hasn’t.”

On Charlie: “Charlie and I had a fantastic friendship. He arguably will be one of my best friends for a very, very long time. He’s an amazing, special guy. … He said he’s not sure why a million girls aren’t after [me, but] I’m not sure why a million guys aren’t after him. I’m sure they probably are. So you can see and appreciate all that stuff, but it was really cool to have the friendship, and it was so appreciated in a place that can be as lonely as the Survivor situation, where everyone can be your enemy.” Marcus insisted that Charlie would have gone to the end with him. “I would never sell him out because we really just had so much in common and such great, great interaction together. So grateful for that.”

On the editing of his relationship with Charlie: “I was glad that CBS kind of gave us a little bit of a nod in that they acknowledged that we were having a friendship, although they spent a lot of time trying to make it like Charlie was in love with me while I depended upon Charlie as much as he depended upon me. … I know it’s probably minor, but yes, it is possible for gay people and straight people to have friendships. … I would love to go on Amazing Race and prove that once again.”

In his most striking and thought-provoking criticism, Marcus said, “CBS has a challenge. They have a viewership, they’re doing well, it’s a successful show. Do you push the envelope or do you make the same tried and trued jokes? Do you take the risk of letting a tribe that’s doing really well kind of stick it out, where it’s predictable for a while and then have a really interesting finish? Or do you try to mix it up again just to flare up the ratings for a little bit and then let the game play itself out in a different fashion? I think that’s a low road, high road choice. Sometimes it’s tough, because you’re taking this risk. People might not react well to the Charlie/Marcus friendship. We look at the voting that happened Tuesday, and there’s obviously a large group of people out there who aren’t feeling very progressive about homosexual rights and attitudes. I can totally appreciate [CBS’] situation. I think they chose to go with their traditional, make some jokes at our expense—and hey, it’s not the first time, it’s not the last time. Hopefully, the fact that it was a little bit different and the fact that it really truly was a great friendship will come across no matter what.”

On how he was voted out: “I’m not perfect, either. I’m not even claiming to be; I am absolutely humbled by this experience. I hoped we would all try to take the high road. [Crystal] could have still have voted me out, and Kenny could have still voted me out, and Susie could have voted me out, but you didn’t have to necessarily do it that way. There’s certain boundaries that you don’t have to cross and you can still vote people out, and it’s still great television, and it’s still an interesting show.”

On being accused of arrogance: “Honestly, I hate answering the question because what am I going to say? No, I’m not arrogant? If you guys do not understand at this point how hard I tried for everyone in that tribe … I worked my ass off. … I never complained about that. I got lucky in the genetic lottery. I’m so blessed to have parents that pushed me to get an education, and the credit is all theirs, and the credit is all the people that have been in my life that, in good ways and bad ways, have made me who I am. And I am so humbled to have been on this show, and if people want to turn it into vanity then, okay, I guess that’s the bad side of having tried hard for people is that they think it’s all for my own glory. Frankly, I couldn’t care less. I just want to share the spotlight with people.”

On the experience: “I got to have I Jeff Probst put the individual immunity necklace on me. I remember 10 years ago watching that and thinking that was the coolest thing on the planet, and then it happened to me. That’s the cool part about, for me, taking that high road is that you get so many cool experiences living in the present moment like that, and I just want that for everybody. I hope everyone who went out there, and who goes out there in the future, and who’s been out there in the past … does that for themselves. Because even if you don’t get the ultimate prize, you go home with something amazing, which is wisdom and experience for embracing whatever you’re around.”

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

It was bound to happen – a crack developed in the seemingly impenetrable Kota tribe alliance on Survivor: Gabon. After another surprise tribe swap, Marcus Lehman, a 28-year-old doctor from Atlanta was the second consecutive contestant caught in CrystalKen’s conniving crosshairs. – Carrie Bell

You made a risky deal and blew it. You had a concrete alliance for so long and all of the sudden, you abandon it on the word of someone you essentially just met. No, what I was doing was keeping my alliance with Susie and Bob, but being very aware of the fact that Susie was insane and unpredictable. She had been saying for days, ‘My promises don’t count; it’s just a game.’ So I felt like, ‘I am screwed with this lady if we don’t do something.’ Bob and Susie didn’t care which one [Kenny or Crystal] we voted out. And then I realized Crystal and I had an outside-the-game relationship. I figured if Susie was going to sell out, we should work on her. I thought, ‘Well shoot, if I can build on the relationship that Crystal and I have outside the game, we could have a sixth person that would be really great to have around.’”

How did you figure out that you knew Crystal’s cousin and have you been in touch with him about what went down?It came up when we were talking and getting to know each other. Her cousin’s name is Kenneth Cox. He’s one of my best friends. He’s an amazing guy, a stand-up guy. He’s like a brother. He and I talked about it. It certainly has impacted our relationship a bit. It’s not something that feels good, but our friendship has been strong for a long time and I’m confident that it’s not really going to prevent it from continuing to be good.

Did you go into tribal council worried that you still might be going home or did you trust her completely? How did it feel to realize she had double-crossed you? There are two things you don’t want to think about people – that they won’t sell out family and friends and that they wouldn’t take advantage of compassion. I had an inkling that I was probably dealing with people that could care less about those ideas. I knew I was in trouble the minute I walked back to camp with those guys. I was just hoping that the bond she has with her cousin and my friendship would give her a second thought. Susie was always a liability. I knew Susie would not be able to make a well-placed decision. I knew I was dealing with less than trustworthy people and I wasn’t willing to stoop to that level. It isn’t worth it. I don’t need a million dollars for the price of my dignity.

In your exit interview, you said, as a jury member you can forgive but not forget. Even so, can you not appreciate the craftiness play of Ken and Crystal?I think it is possible to play an honorable game and get to the end taking the high road. Being more willing to do more base things than the other player is not gamesmanship; that’s just having less shame than the other person. You are not more clever than me because you are willing to do lower things. It is more challenging to try and take the higher road.

Can you appreciate why Susie jumped ship? You can’t honestly say you would have taken Susie to the final three? Susie had been with us for about 15 days at that point and we had been hammering home our plan. If we jump on this wagon together, uplifting each other and staying positive, we will win challenges and we will stay away from bickering. But Dan and Susie had a hard time grasping our strategy and buy into it enough to let themselves become part of the group. We had just had this crazy random switch, which was the worst thing that could have happened for our alliance. And she was asking me to promise her final three, which I couldn’t. I was like, ‘Lady, I don’t even know if I’m going to be in the final three. What can I do for you?’ You can’t sit there and say I am definitely going to take this person to the final three. The game constantly changes.

Would you do this again?Yes absolutely. This was a life-changing and life-affirming experience. It has given me a real appreciation for my life and the things I do well. I feel like a very humbled work in progress from this experience. I would go back in a heartbeat. It was so much fun. I am trying to wiggle my way on to the next one as a builder or something.

Even though you’d have to endure the physical toll again?Yes. I was blessed with my bug-handling abilities. I didn’t get too many bites. I had the privilege of having more clothes than the girls and sleeping by the fire helped. I lost about 15 pounds, which was about a half a pound a day. It was grueling. My beard was grueling. It looked like I haven’t hit puberty in a few parts of my face. But I tried not to let the physical wear keep me from taking extra walks or going out in the canoe. I avoided naps. I just reminded myself that I was in Gabon and this was the most unique experience I had ever had.

Give us your status update. I am making a transition up to Atlanta from Jacksonville. I had to finish my residency there. I have started to wonder if I could do medical correspondence or use my degree and the media’s reach to help people learn how to treat their bodies well. That’s something I hope to pursue and in the meantime, I will continue my residency training in anesthesia.

On last night's episode of Survivor: Gabon, Marcus was blindsided by Kota after the tribes were mixed up instead of merged. Marcus ended up on a tribe with Crystal and Kenny of the former Fang tribe. Crystal and Marcus realized that they shared a special connection - her cousin was his best friend and the two attempted to form an alliance. Crystal, however, went back on her word, pulled Susie in for a swing vote, and eliminated Marcus from the game. Today, he spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview.

Hey everybody. This is Gina from BuddyTV, and today I’m talking to Marcus from Survivor: Gabon.

You’re my last interview. This is such a bittersweet moment. This is my swan song. Let’s make this one a Nobel/Pulitzer Prize winning interview.

Well, I was just saying, I’m so mad that you got eliminated because I thought you were going to go all the way to the end with Charlie.

Um, that was the plan.

What are they thinking this season? They just keep voting off all these strong, physical players.

Well, the thing about Charlie and I is, we weren’t just physical. We had the mental thing going on, which was great, and in fact, it separated us a little from Dan and Ace. Not Jacquie so much. That was a horrible day in my world.

Were you actually friends with Charlie in the game, or were you just using him to get ahead?

Charlie is one of my best friends. He is an amazing guy. We hit it off right away and there was no using of each other. We were actually like, “Dude, you sure you’re not using me?” Like, “Uh, no.” “Are you sure?” We couldn’t even believe how well we were getting along ‘cause I think we all expected to get into Survivor and everyone was gonna be totally paranoid, sneaky, conniving jerks. Charlie and I were just hanging out and having a good time.

Well, I’m glad you and Charlie got together for an alliance this season because every season needs a good bromance and we got it in you guys!

Yes, we had an awesome bromance and I enjoyed every minute of the exposure.

Explain a little more about the connection you ended up having with Crystal and how that affected your gameplay in last night’s episode.

That’s a great question. I was shocked to find out that one of my best friends from Atlanta… I have two best friends, David and Ken. They’re guys that are like brothers to me. They’re family and they’re great people. Crystal was telling me she went to UNC and I’m like, “Oh, I know a guy who went to UNC.” It was such a stupid thing where you actually know who the person who went to this giant school. But she says, “I know, Kenny… Kenneth.” She’s his cousin! And I was like, “Are you serious?” And it all came together because then I realized – you’re not really a good basketball player, are you? We hit it off on that level. It’s one of those things where, when you’re struggling with somebody like Susie to make a connection and failing miserably, you’re thinking, “Well, at least I have something else here that I can start working on and hope that over the next couple days, I’ll have enough of a relationship to where she and I can communicate on what the next move should be.” Like, this is not somebody that I need to fight. This is somebody that I want to work with. That’s how I viewed the friendship and some of that is out of respect for my friend, Kenneth, because he really is a great guy. I don’t think that she got some of his good nature. I was wrong about that.

Jeff Probst said that from last night’s episode until the of the season, it was going to start being the good people vs. the bad people. Is the good people alliance something that you sort of spearheaded and got started and then got voted out?

Well, I’ll let the viewers decide. For me, I played the game the way I play my real life. I've been so blessed. I have great parents. They helped me take advantage of the blessings that I have. I think I learned it when my sister passed away and I realized that we were always bickering a little bit as kids and it was just one of those things where... considering what we meant for each other and how we help each other and we might not have the chance to make amends in that respect. I think that that's kind of the dynamic that got started with my group of comrades in the game, I guess. It certainly was one of the elements that developed over at the Fang tribe. I think that we'll continue to see that difference being a very big element. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. I obviously have not seen any of the other episodes so I don't really know what went down in a lot of ways.

Who would you and Charlie have taken to final three?

Corinne, most likely. I was close to Charlie. I loved Randy a lot and it would've been a very, very difficult decision to go from four to three in that position with Randy or Bob. I think it would've probably been Corinne, Charlie, and I if we could've pulled it off.

Do you leave the game with any regrets?

Only that I left the game. I would gladly starve to do more challenges and to experience more. I feel so blessed and so humbled to go through this experience and I had a great time. Like I said, I regretted not having more time out there with the cool people that I met and get under Jeff's skin some more 'cause I know... I know that throwing that idol in the water that got to him. It was awesome.

Well, I'm glad I could give you your swan song and I just wanted to thank you so much.